Decline in prices hurts Glencore

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GLENCORE, the commodity trader, which recently took the first steps towards a possible stock market flotation, warned of a bumpy recovery yesterday after posting a 43 per cent fall in 2009 net profit on a slide in prices.

The Swiss group said its net income, excluding exceptional items, fell to $2.72bn (£1.81bn) last year, down from $4.75bn in 2008. Gross income fell to $3.2bn, the lowest since 2005. Net debt, taking into account readily marketable inventories, fell to $10.2bn from $11.5bn and the company had $3.8bn in cash and undrawn facilities.